


Elementally Challenged

by SkyKathryn



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad guy keith, Branding, Coffee Shop, M/M, Modern Day, More tags to be added, Mutual Pining, NSFW, NSFW in the future, Protective shiro, Water!Lance, all the feels, arch nemisis, beat up keith, blade of marmora, blunt keith, fire!Keith, good guy! Lance, klance, modern day au], oblivious keith, roommate au, scary bosses, sort of, stressed lance, super hero AU, suspicious lance, vetran shiro, voltron is the cafe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 20:49:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9843443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyKathryn/pseuds/SkyKathryn
Summary: Lance, for someone so, connected, to the element water, hated being covered in bloody cold rain. He grumpily scaled his apartment complex, cursing himself for not taking his roommates room which had a fire escape. Why didn’t he think of that? He kept grumbling under his breath as he slipped into his window, shivering as he stripped out of his outfit. The white and blue catsuit may be a little ostentatious but he liked it. The fabric was soft, clung to him, but also made from a very knife-resistant material. Something he discovered was important when his arch-nemesis was a little too knife happy. He had upgraded the suit quickly after he discovered that. Thank-god for his little gremlin of illegal produces.





	1. Chapter 1

Lance, for someone so, connected, to the element water, hated being covered in bloody cold rain. He grumpily scaled his apartment complex, cursing himself for not taking his roommates room which had a fire escape. Why didn’t he think of that? He kept grumbling under his breath as he slipped into his window, shivering as he stripped out of his outfit. The white and blue catsuit may be a little ostentatious but he liked it. The fabric was soft, clung to him, but also made from a very knife-resistant material. Something he discovered was important when his arch-nemesis was a little too knife happy. He had upgraded the suit quickly after he discovered that. Thank-god for his little gremlin of illegal produces. 

He laid the fabric out on his bed, letting it dry before jumping in the shower, turning it up too high when it started coming through cold.

“The fuck?” He closed his eyes and followed the path the water had taken through the pipes to discover that his roommate was also showering in his room. “The heck Keith?” He whispered, using his powers to make the water come out icy from his shower head. It was 3am, the idiot shouldn’t still be up, damn night owl. A high pitched shriek answered Lance from across the hall and he chuckled to himself, waiting until Keith had shut his shower off before lathering himself up and warming the water up to a more acceptable temperature. 

He may have a pretty knife-proof outfit but his body still bruised, and the fire the other was so fond of still hurt. Lance winced and twisted around to see the bruise already forming on his back, a perfect foot-print it would seem, and shook his head, checking himself over before deciding nothing else would be a problem before getting out. His blue towel was so soft he just stood, swaying slightly in front of the foggy mirror, blinking himself awake enough to brush his teeth and put his face mask on, hanging his suit in the bathroom to dry and locking the door. His back was hurting so he strapped an ice pack from the freezer under his bed to it and curled up under the covers. 

 

____________________

 

“The shower has been playing up again.” Keith grumbled as he walked out his bedroom the next morning, stealing Lances mug of super sweet coffee straight from his hands, taking a sip, wincing, as he did every morning, and handing it back. “You don’t like having teeth do you?” 

“I have faith that one day you’ll learn to not steal my coffee and I can start weaning myself off without fear of your crimes.” Lance growled, eyes hooded, bags under his eyes matching Keith’s usually much more pronounced ones for a change. 

“Not gonna happen, you’d be upset if I stopped doing it.” Keith bent over to pull ice cream out of the freezer, long soft black hair falling over his shoulder like a waterfall and Lance bit his lip. He couldn’t be attracted to his roommate. Nope. Not happening. Keith put the honeycomb ice cream on the island and grabbed a couple of spoons, heaving himself up on to the bar stool like it was the most effort he's ever exerted before. “You joining in on this?” He waved the spoons in the air, dark eyebrow cocked up as his dark violet eyes shone under the kitchen lights. 

“Do you really have to ask that still? I thought we were past this in our relationship?” Lance mocked outrage half-heartedly, hand covering his chest before Keith rolled his eyes and stuck both spoons in the melty-goodness. He reached up and curled his hair back into a bun on the top of his head to keep it out of the way and Lance could swear his heart stopped. Keith had such well defined muscles, his arms straining against the fabric of his tight shirt, the part of his neck exposed was sharp, leading to a straight jaw, currently covered in a little stubble. He swallowed and licked his lips to cover the fact he was staring, forcing his eyes away from the one stray piece of hair curling under his right eye in a perfect ringlet. 

“I have hope that one day you will stop stealing my ice cream stock.” He teased, bringing his spoon up to his smirking lips, tongue dropping out obscenely as he pressed the spoon to it. Why did this guy eat like he was in porn at all times? It was not helping things. Lance stuttered out an indignant noise and poked his tongue out at the other, shoving a huge spoonful in his mouth and instantly regretting it. “I also have hope you will stop doing that too.” Keith sighed as Lance groaned and pressed his hands either side of his head like it could stop the brain freeze.

"You're no help." Lance groaned, forehead pressed hard to the table top as Keith reached over to press his hand to the back to his, offering the unusual warmth that seemed to run through his veins at all times. Lance was grateful for the table, the blush spreading over his cheeks burning even as his head hurt. At that point Keith’s phone vibrated against the top and he pulled his hand back to check it, groaning loudly. “What?”

“Shiro wants to add another hour to our workout today. I don’t. Do you see my issue?” Keith put his phone down, glass first, and cradled his head in his hands. 

“You lack the self control it takes to say no to your gym daddy?” Lance teased, sitting up as the pain passed, smirking at the dark look Keith shout him from one side of his face. 

“Fuck you Lance.” He hissed, groaning as he stuffed his face back into the gloves that constantly stayed on his hands. 

“At least buy me dinner first.” Lance retorted as usual and Keith shoved the ice cream towards him with his elbow, making the former chuckle to himself, burning cheeks back again. “That’s hardly a meal.” He commented and Keith reached over to the fruit basket and put and apple in front of him. “Wow Kogane. Real romantic, ice cream and an apple, on our own island, at eight am, and you won’t even look at me. You know what? Forget it, sleeping with you must suck if you think this is romance.”

“You don’t know anything.” Keith pulled out of his hiding space to pick up his phone, biting his plump lips in thought. “I had plans. I have work tonight as well.” 

“So tell him no.” Lance stated, waving his spoon until Keith opened his mouth and Lance rolled his eyes, putting the implement into his mouth before getting his own again. Keith started smiling thought, so he took that as a win. 

“But he will give me the puppy dog eyes and I’ll be screwed anyway. But he’ll feel guilty at doing it.” Keith whined and Lance chuckled, scrolling through his Facebook one handed. “Just because you have no gym buddy doesn’t mean you can escape feeling bad for me, he's just too cute when he asks for extra reps. I can’t say no. Never get me a puppy, it would walk all over me.” Keith sighed, typing his reply as he spoke. 

“You’re right. I don’t have a gym buddy. I have a Hunk. That’s all I need.” He poked Keith’s arm with the end of his spoon, getting the other to focus solely on him, not his phone. “Shiro will accept you saying no. You’re a bouncer, you need to be awake enough to kick out the unruly, screaming women.”

“You always start sentences so well, then you ruin them.” Keith huffed, taking his spoon back and digging back in, eyes closed in thought as he sighed through his nose. The light bounced off of his sharp cheekbones, throwing shade under them slightly, dark circles pronounced more than usual. His eyelashes fanned out impossibly long and dark against his pale skin, cupids bow sharp enough to cut someone, bottom lip plump and chewed on, cracked slightly down the middle. Lance swallowed thickly and reached into his dressing gown pocket, putting a little metal pot down loud enough to startle the other out of his half-doze. Violet eyes snapped open, mouth dropping so he had to grab the spoon as it slid free. 

“Sorry.” Lance pushed the pot of lip salve forward and Keith’s breathing evened out as he smiled gently, laughing as he twisted the top off. 

“You’re always carrying this stuff.” He covered his lips and smacked them together, rubbing it in as he handed the pot back. “Thanks.”

“Of course I am, gotta keep these puckers plump and perfectly available.” Lance wiggled his eyebrows and Keith snorted into his hand. “Mean.” Lance pouted, crossing his arms and folding into himself. Guilt flashed across Keith’s face briefly before he settled on ruffling the others hair fondly.

"You do a good job of it.” Keith assured him and Lance blushed, looking away and smiling to himself. “You want anymore of this?” 

“No it can go away.” Lance put his spoon down as Keith took the ice cream away, turning on the coffee machine and setting it to black. “You busy today?”

“Not till twelve, when I have to go meet Shiro. Why?” Keith didn’t turn back around, reaching up to rummage in the cabinets, shirt riding up his back, pale, marred, strip of flesh being reviled as he did an Lance had to swallow hard. 

“We need shopping.” He reached over to the fridge under the counter and snagged the groceries list off of it, waltzing over to the freezer and dropping into a crouch to see what they needed. “Did you eat all the pizza?”

"Pidge and I did an X-Files marathon.” He shrugged, leaning against the counter and blowing on his drink. “I still don’t know where all their food goes, hollow legs maybe?”

“That’s why they’re so short, clearly.” Lance nodded, not turning to him but adding a couple of things to the list. 

“I agree. That’s enough mysteries solved for one day, I’m going to get dressed.” Keith announced, fingers brushing the back of Lances neck as he passed, causing the younger to erupt in goosebumps and growl at him from the floor. 

“You ass!” Lance shouted as Keith closed his bedroom door. “It’s a pretty fine ass.” He whispered under his breath to himself. He finished the list and checked the cupboards, ripping the list off and putting it on the kitchen counter to go get himself dressed.

______________

 

The pair were used to routine by now. They both preferred to be in each other’s space in the morning if they were both up, they would discuss the usual things, then they would break off in the afternoon. Lance had no idea what Keith did, other than spend too much time at the gym, but he always came back looking a little worse for wear, often crashing on the sofa or the kitchen counter. Lance wasn’t sure what he did for a living either, his job was sporadic, no set hours and was always up at the most ridiculous times. He had some idea that he could be a hit man. It would be interesting at least. He himself worked in a coffee shop down the town so that was where he was heading right now.

“Hey guys.” Lance jumped the counter rather than go around, earning a glare from his boss, a stunningly gorgeous woman, all curves, long white hair and blue eyes you could swim in, but she was also terrifying. “Morning Allura.” He winked and she heaved a sigh, rolling her eyes but swatting him upside the head anyway. 

“Good morning Lance.” He smiled and skipped to the changing room out the back, stopping to poke fun at Matt who was fighting the coffee machine again. 

“Fu…dge you Lance, this thing is evil.” He caught himself quickly, pushing his glasses up his slightly crooked nose and scanning the room for kids.

“Don’t be mean to Ronda.” Lance cooed at the machine, pressing one button and making it work. “See? You just have to treat her right.”

“It’s a machine Lance.” Matt rolled his eyes and turned back to the customer, drink in hand, smile plastered on his tired face. 

“You’re a very special machine though, aren’t you girl?” He patted the metal and carried on, returning sometime later in his apron and matching shirt. 

“Hey, what can I get you?” He put on the kilowatt smile and watched the girls the other side of the counter swoon. Hunk just chuckled at him from the café area where he was clearing up the mess left by some kids before. 

 

_________________

 

“Shiro. You cannot be serious?” Keith’s voice cut through the dull murmur of the shop and the group all looked up to see the pair walk through the door, Keith clutching his elbow while Shiro fussed over him. “It’s just a graze!”

“You went flying off your bike Keith!” Shiro was almost hysterical, and if there had been more blood he was sure it wouldn’t have been so funny. 

“I fell off because you didn’t stop in time and rear ended me! It was your fault!” Keith hissed, pointing at their usual booth before splitting to go to the bathroom. 

“You two should just get married.” Pidge teased, flicking a paper plane over the counter so I would land on Shiro’s table as he cradled his head in his hands. 

“No Pidge. Not today.” His voice was so flat it made them all exchange a worried glance. 

“Hey, can I have a plaster? Promise I’m not allergic?” Keith had pushed his shirt up and washed away the excess blood but it was still leaking slightly. Lance reached under the counter and pulled a bright blue plaster out of the box, moving to the customer side of the wood to press it over the wound. “Thanks. Usual coffees please.” He smiled at the tan man who bit his lip, smiling back, Pidges groan was audible from the other side of the room where they were wiping tables. 

“Coming up.” Hunk put them on the side, a couple of cookies there as well and Keith waved his thanks, sliding into the same side of the booth as Shiro who just hid in his arms was the stuff was put in front of him. “What’s going on there?” He asked Lance who popped up next to him, sneaking a cookie from the fresh baked pile. 

“Not sure, family stuff?” He offered with a shrug, gnawing his lower lip slightly. 

“Hope not.” Matt was hovering behind them, on his tip toes to see better over their shoulders. “Shiro hasn’t really talked to his parents in a long while.” 

Matt and Shiro had been friends for years, since pre-school, and they knew a lot about each other, more than the rest did. But Allura had been in the self defence group Shiro had run for a while at the local gym after he came back from his final tour in the army. They two had instantly hit it off and spent the last three years dancing around each other like a couple of children. Pidge was Matts younger sister, in the same year at school/college as Lance and Hunk, who had been friends for as long as they could remember. Keith had sort of appeared with Shiro, a grumpy ball of energy with too many black clothes. They never explained why they knew each other but they were so perfectly in sync most of the time it was borderline creepy. It ate at Lance how little he knew about the other teen. But Keith had been adamant that he didn’t want noses poke around his privet life, even after they ended up getting a flat together. 

Hunk, Pidge, Matt and Allura were also his team but that wasn’t here nor there. 

“Do you have any idea who else could upset Shiro this much?” Allura started wiping down the counter beside Matt, figuring it was almost close time anyway. 

“No. He’s usually unflappable.” Matt frowned and suddenly Keith jumped out of his skin, startling Shiro at the same time who frantically searched the place with his eyes as Keith slid himself under the table. “The fuck?” 

“Shirogane.” A tall man slipped up to the booth and blocked their view completely, dropping his voice so they couldn’t hear. 

Keith had made his way under Shiro’s seat by the looks of it and Shiro struggled to pull himself together. The man was tall, board shoulders, dark purple suit perfectly tailored, his dark hair was slicked back and there was a nasty looking scar running down the right side of his face. He seemed to be discussing something and eventually offered his hand for Shiro to shake. 

“Do tell Keith I know he’s under the chair, he can come to me when he wants to apologise.” The man spoke up and Keith wrapped his arms around his head.

“I will do Kolivan, thank you.” He nodded and the man span on his heel, leaving the shop as swiftly as he appeared. Shiro kicked his foot back and caught Keith in the ribs who groaned and shimmied out of this hiding spot. 

“Shiro.” Keith started but Shiro turned to him, eyes blazing.

“What the hell did you do Keith?” His voice was low and dangerous enough to make the group shrink back, a couple of the patrons taking sneaky glances in their direction. 

“Not here Shiro.” Keith nodded towards the counter and they all split, looking guilty and awkward. 

“Then we leave. For god’s sake Keith.” Shiro stood, grabbing Keith’s arm and dragging him up as well, shoving his coffee into this hand and walking away, expecting Keith to follow. He wasn’t disappointed. 

 

______________

Lance paced the front room. Keith hadn’t come home. It was three am. There hadn’t been any need for him to go out and fight tonight which just left him panicking as Keith usually came home, or at least text to say he wasn’t going to be back for tea. He didn’t like it. Not one bit. The roar of a bike on the street below, going into the garage under the building, made him startle more than he wanted to admit. 

He sighed, leaning against the couch as Keith’s key scraped into the lock, the other essentially falling into the apartment, catching himself on the coat rack. Lance lunged forward, wrapping his arms under his armpits and hoisted him up, hearing a hiss and a wince. 

“The hell have you been Keith?” Lance demanded, half carrying him to the sofa and dumping him on it. He refused to look up, hair curtaining over his face and hands curled around his chest. 

“Why are you awake?” Keith hissed through clenched teeth, breathing heavily even though it was clear he was in pain. 

“I couldn’t sleep knowing you weren’t home, I thought something bad had happened!” Lance screeched and dropped to a crouch to get a better look at Keith’s face, only for it to be jerked away and his hand to come back bloody. 

“You should go to bed Lance.” He half pleaded, shoulders caving in.

“Not a chance. Get up Keith, let me check you over. What happened?” The Cuban rushed to the kitchen to grab a bowl of water and a rag along with the first aid kit. 

“I’m fine Lance.” Keith waved him away, trying to walk out of the room with a limp. 

“Bullshit. Sit your ass down, take your shirt off.” Lance stood in his way, arms crossed over his chest. Keith met his gaze, violet eyes sharp with pain, cheek split enough for blood to be seeping out, hair caked in the substance, lip cracked, left eye already black and swelling. “Keith.” His voice went soft and he dared to reach out and press his fingers under the bruise. 

“Lance please. Just go to bed.” Keith sighed, wincing but leaning into the touch all the same, eyes fluttering shut brokenly. 

“Keith?” Lance stepped closer to him, breathing the same air and Keith’s eyes opened again, instantly locking with Lances. “Take your shirt off, sit down. I won’t ask how just let me fix it?” 

“Fine.” Keith gave in, stepping back and pulling his shirt off, tossing the bloodied garment into the general direction of the kitchen. Lance stepped up, ignoring the fluttering of his heart. Keith was beautiful. But now was not the time. He grabbed a hairband from the pot on the table and pulled his long locks out of his face, tying it gently and letting his finger trace the back of the others neck. He didn’t speak, just went around him to check the damage. A bruise was already black on his ribs, suspiciously boot shaped, and there were a couple of serious gashes between his ribs on his left side. The worst thing was the actual branding on his left peck though. It was a jagged, exaggerated S kind of shape, defined lines, red and blistered. Lance gasped and tried to catch Keith’s eye but he just turned away, wiping his face with his wrist.

“You said you wouldn’t ask.” Keith mumbled, moving to grab a tissue and wipe at the blood gathering in the corner of his mouth. 

“Keith. How can I not?” He pleaded and Keith glared at him, raising a hand and pressing his finger to the others lips gently.

“By not talking.” He whispered and closed his eyes, hand dropping to his lap. Lance couldn’t stand it, a small whimper left his lips and he got to work, wiping off the blood from his chest, gently as he could even though it ended with winces and moans whatever he did. 

“Sorry Keith.” He finished wrapping his ribs, moving to put burn cream on his brand, wincing along with him as he made contact, the cold cream making it worse before it would set in with the numbing side. Lance noticed a jagged scar dipping over both sides of Keith’s right shoulder, tracing it gently with his fingers, something about it was oddly familiar, he just couldn’t place it. Keith had opened his eyes a slit and was watching Lance with a strange expression, it wasn’t something Lance was used to seeing on the teens face and he raised an eyebrow before moving on to de-blood the others face. 

He was confused as to how the water was still warm but didn’t question it, glad that he wouldn’t freeze his friend. The cut wasn’t too deep, looked like a smooth knife had done the job if Lance had to guess. He creamed the cut then put cream on the bruise to bring it out quicker and stop the throbbing. There wasn’t much he could do about the black eye but he put cream on the split in his lip. 

“There you go.” He whispered, checking him over gently just to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. 

“Thank you, Lance.” Keith gripped his wrists gently, the gloves on his hands warm against his usually cold skin. He had a gentle smile on his broken lips and Lance was overcome with the need to kiss him. He should smile like that more often. But he smiled lopsidedly and stood up instead, stretching before scurrying to the kitchen to cover the blush on his cheeks. 

“No problem. Don’t make a habit of it though ok?” He called and could hear the other make his way out of the front room. 

“Will do.” He called back, door to his bedroom locking behind him. Lance heaved a sigh of relief and folded in on himself against the kitchen tiles. How could he handle that? Why did Keith let it happen? He surely wasn’t in an abusive relationship? 

It wasn’t Shiro was it? 

Lance shook his head at that. No. Shiro loved Keith. That much was obvious when they were together, he couldn’t brand him. Shiro was such a gentle soul. No, he refused to believe it. He ran his hand over his face, realising there was tears on his cheeks and hiccupping quietly. What if that was it though? They were together more often than they were not. It would explain why they could just coexist perfectly. If Keith ended up like that when he upset the elder. But no. it was Shiro. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, never. Surely?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dont start expecting daily updates, i just really like this right now :)

Lance wiped the counter a little too viciously. Shiro was on his own, sat with his coffee in his and Keith’s booth, fiddling with his phone, like nothing was wrong. How could he do that? How could he just sit there? 

“Dude, you’re gonna wipe through the counter at this rate.” Hunk out a hand on his shoulder and he startled, realising he had gone as far as to polish the surface. Oops.

“Sorry, heads a little all over the place.” He sighed, pressing his hand to his eyes. “Do you know why Keith isn’t here?” 

“Nope. Didn’t ask. Though its weird only being one of them.” Pidge chimed in from the tall stool they were sat on. “I’ll text him, we’re supposed to be meeting later for the movies.”

“Are you two going on dates without us again?” Lance gasped, hand splayed over his chest in mock outrage.

“We’re going to see the new documentary about Nessy.” They dead panned and Lance stuck his tongue out at them, disgusted face on. 

“You can keep your weird conspiracy dates thanks.” He huffed. Though to be honest he was worried. Keith hadn’t come out for breakfast. It just wasn’t normal for him to suddenly change his routine. He was a creature of habit. Or at least, Lance thought he was? Maybe he was wrong. 

“That’s what we thought.” They smirked and went back to scrolling. Shiro suddenly stood up, swearing gently under his breath and waved at them as he left the building. “That was odd.” 

“Want to explain why you were shooting Shiro daggers this whole time?” Allura raised an eyebrow and Lance coughed, waving them to come out the back. Hunk and Pidge followed the pair and watched as Lance shifted from foot to foot. “Lance?”

“You know how Keith and Shiro are, kind of a package deal?” Matt suddenly appeared from the storage room, wiping his hands on his apron. “Keith came home at 3am last night. He was, well kinda worse for wear.” Lance scratched the back of his neck. “As in he looked like he had the crap beaten out of him.”

“What?” Matt raised an eyebrow. “You think it’s got something to do with the creepy dude yesterday?” 

“Yeah.” Lance stopped. “Shiro seemed pretty pissed when they left. I just really hope he wasn’t part of the problem.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Lance, Shiro adores Keith.” Matts voice was borderline threatening. 

“Yeah. But it’s just strange. I think we should keep a close eye on the two. I don’t want to.” Allura held up her hands to placate Matt. “But Lance has a pretty good gut feeling. And Shiro was quite unusually violent with him leaving the café.”

“You’re wrong.” Matt spat, crossing his arms over his chest. “Shiro wouldn’t hurt Keith.”

“I don’t think he would. But we’re his friends, we should be aware things happen we don’t know about.” Pidge chimed in, bright eyes sad behind their thick glasses. “Matt don’t look at me like that.”

“I can’t believe you three.” The eldest teen threw his arms up and turned on his heel. “Shiro is not in an abusive relationship with Keith.”

“I hope not.” Allura frowned, looking out to wards the café resolutely. “Come on guys, we have work to do.”

“Lance?” Hunk griped his elbow as the others left. “Do you seriously think its Shiro hurting Keith?” 

“I can’t see any other person who would get away with it. Keith lets Shiro walk all over him.” Lance shrugged. “He was in real bad shape. He didn’t come out for breakfast either.”

“Fuck.” The swear coming from Hunks mouth made Lance startle but it also proved that he saw Lances point. “He kinda does.”

“Yeah, he was complaining about how easy Shiro can manipulate him yesterday at breakfast too.” Lance pointed out and Hunk shook his head, biting his lip a little too hard. 

“You look out for him at home ok? Take some cookies home for him, bring up a movie night or something? Let him know that we’re here if something is happening.” Hunk demanded, nodding to himself. “If he doesn’t go out with pidge tonight that is?”

“We’ll see.” Lance nodded back, picking at his apron. “I really hope it’s not but it’s just niggling in my head.”

“It’ll be ok Lance.” Hunk pulled him into a tight hug and some of the tension left his shoulders.

“Thanks Buddy. Come on, we have work to do.” 

______________________ 

 

“Come on come on come on.” Matt was chanting under his breath, watching the security footage back in the apartment above the café. Pidge had gone to the movies with Keith, reported that whilst he looked like a punching bag, he had covered it up with getting into a fight at the gym. They couldn’t really push any further, it wasn’t unlike Keith to be hot tempered. So, Matt had tapped into the security footage of the gym him and Shiro used, finding nothing. Literally. 

“Guys?” He called and Lance and Hunk crowded around him, putting the tech they were cleaning down to do so. “They didn’t go to the gym last night. In fact, I’m pretty sure they aren’t even registered at the gym at all.”

“That doesn’t make sense, they go daily?” Lance leant over him, typing quickly but no, neither had a membership at the facility. “That just doesn’t explain anything?”

“What if you got the gym name wrong? What’s the one the other side of town called?” Hunk worried his lip and drew his phone out his pocket to look it up. “Here, try that?” 

“Ok, I’ll see what I can do.” Matt took the phone and the other two went back to the cleaning process. They had set Allura’s spare room up as a central hub for the group, tracking criminals and finding ways for Lance to help. They were his team, they had each other’s backs at all time. They kept him out of major danger and sent him where he needed to go. Kind of like a vigilante. Kind of like a pawn at times. He was good at fighting the other guy.   
“We need a name for Knife Boy.” Lance announced and they both looked up at him. “What? He’s my arch nemesis. He should have a name.” 

“You don’t even have a name Lance.” Matt rolled his eyes.

“Sharpshooter, dur.” Lance huffed, snorting at Hunk who just chuckled.

“Blue. Your code name is Blue.” He sighed, smiling fondly.

“Well, there are two of them I face frequently. One has more purple on, one more red, so we sticking with colours?” Lance offered and Matt nodded, distracted by the computer as usual.

“Yeah that works.”

“Speaking of colours. Purple has just broken into a jewellers down town. You’re up Icicles.” Allura walked into the room and handed a file case too Lance who skimmed it as he made a beeline for where his second suit was stored. He memorised where he was going as he pulled the suit up his legs, the white and blue fabric snuggly fitting to his lean frame. There were blue bands on his forearms, a big yellow ‘V’ on his chest and back and an almost spiders web pattern over his thighs. The sides were a mesh that was breathable and allowed him to keep cool in a fight. Pidge had designed the suit on the back of a napkin and everyone was pretty sure it was a joke but Lance actually really liked it, so that’s what he had made. The helmet type mask was solid, the visor could be dimmed to be like tinted glass and he could hear the team through it as well. He clipped everything into place, slipping his guns into the holsters on his upper thighs and came back into the room. 

“Right. Get in and out as quick as you can Lance. The police are on their way but I want to know why they are attacking small businesses at the moment, its unlike them to be doing so.” Allura handed Lance one last page to read and then pointed to the garage. “They aren’t far away. Run.”

“You hate me.” Lance whined even as he pulled on his skates, rolling in a circle and making his way down the stairs. “Point me right Matt.” 

“Go left, then right at the junction.” Matts voice cut through his comms and Lance turned quickly, slipping down the road just as the police slid past the car in front of him. “Crap, ok they are going out the back, carry on straight, they probably have a getaway car behind the building.”

“Gotcha.” Lance sped up, long legs pushing him forward just as the light changed and he had to swerve out the way of a passing car. There was a loud bang heard over the sirens and Lance banks sharply to the right, hiding behind the corner of the building. 

“Come on now, you know I never wanted to cause any trouble.” A thick German accent filled the alley beside him so he stayed put, staying hidden so he could gain intel. 

“You did though, didn’t you?” A low growling voice replied, hood pulled up over their head, face covered by a mask, an eerie purple glow emitting from their arm which was currently being used to hold the hostage up against the wall. 

“I didn’t mean it! They had me tied down Champion! How could I have escaped death if I didn’t tell them?” The person was getting frantic, red colouring their face from lack of oxygen. 

“Sure. Traitor. You are being taken to see Kolivan, you can face your punishment there.” The tall hooded figure dropped them and gripped their hair, tossing them unceremoniously into the back of the car they were next to. They then turned just as fire erupted behind Lance wo squeaked and slid out of the way, backed into the alley between the two hooded figures. 

“Hey there Fireball.” Lance was glad for the voice changer in the helmet, hiding the most of his panic. “Fancy seeing you two here.”

“Stay out of this Frozone.” The second figure growled, hood pulled down low over his eyes but he had a dark bandana type cover over his mouth, rather than a full-face mask.

“Did you just quote Incredibles?” Lance suddenly dropped his protective stance and the bigger figure rushed him, ducking out of the way of the water than shimmied out of the drain under him and dropping into a slide tackle at last minuet and taking him out flat. He was kneeling on Lances hands as the second figure pounced with a shout, fingers sparking as he attempted to get a hold of Lances legs. The first had underestimated him though, and he used his mind to draw the water up from the street and it crashed up through the ground, tossing the second back away from him with enough force to make the first cover his eyes, at which Lance flipped them, drawing his fist back and making square contact with his jaw. The shoulders were too wide to be a female, legs too built up, and whilst Lance got one hit in, his arms were then grabbed and he was thrown backwards towards the on-coming traffic by the smaller man after that. 

“We don’t have time to deal with this idiot, get him to Kolivan, I’ll take care of him.” The smaller lit his hands up with fire, the flames slightly too red for it to be natural, and the bigger man got in the car, knocking the guy out cold before reversing straight at Lance. He wanted to play chicken but he also knew how these guys worked. He knew that they would drive straight through him. He skidded out the way just in time, letting Matt get a good look at the number plate so he could track it whilst he faced off with Firebrain. 

“We were discussing names earlier. Is yours Firebrain?” Lance quipped and a ball of flames were thrown at him, landing on the rubbish bin and smouldering on the top before falling through the plastic. “No? how about Fire Bird?” He tried again only to get a shout, narrowly avoiding the way he was lunged at. “You’re grumpy.”

“You need to stay out of shit you’re not involved in. There is no need for us to kill you, if you stay out of the God-Damned picture.” The hooded figure shouted, drawing his knife from his leg holster, bringing it up to his face for protection as he dropped into a fighting stance, the two dancing around each other. 

“Where is the fun in that?” Lance pulled out his pistol but then a helicopter swept overhead and they both ducked perfectly into the shadows, eyes flicking between the searchlight and each other. 

“You don’t die? Who are you anyway?” The deep voice of the other was familiar, and the way his suit fit was as well. It was dark grey, almost black in some places, slightly glowing lines of yellow and purple accentuating his chest. Red bands wrapped around his hips and legs, leading down to tightly laced boots. Gloves covered his hands but there was a sliver of skin visible under the hood, dark eyes catching the light from the police search. The two blades he carried were different, one short, straight and clearly his favoured weapon, strapped to his left. But the one of his right was curved, perfectly shaped to hook around a neck. Lance swallowed hard, hand raising to cover his throat slightly. 

“You get away with shit then.” He retorted and the dark figure snorted. 

“We do anyway, you just make it take slightly longer. Why do you think we come as a team nowadays? You are the reason I am scarred as fuck. When I take too long they like to remind me by slicing me to pieces. I have a reason to want you dead. Why do you want me?” The other pulled his glove down and flashed him a burn, a far too familiar scar, pressed right in the centre of his palm. 

“You kidnap people!” Lance whisper shouted, glaring at the other man. “Why are you telling me this?”

“You should know that your fucking around doesn’t stop anything but it does make shit worse for those of us it actually effects.” The figure shrugged, tilting his head to the side like he was listening for something. Then he just turned and swung himself up onto the door frame, scaling the building effortlessly. “See you Pool Party!” The guy waved him off and disappeared over the roof, leaving Lance to scramble after him for a hiding pace when he heard the Police approaching. 

_____________________ 

Lance got into this room and flopped down on his bed. The scar, it was the same. He was sure of it. Was Keith involved with them? Was he a pawn? Were they abusing him? Fuck he didn’t know what to do. Lance covered his face with a pillow and screamed into it, not stopping until his phone buzzled in his pocket. He had gone back to the café and changed, coming back in his normal clothes. 

From: Gremlin  
Keith left as soon as the film ended. Matt says the Gym is a dead end of failure (I think he was watching people struggle with weights for too long). The car wasn’t on any database we can find, the police seem to have given up searching the shop.

He stopped long enough to reply with a crying face and plugged it in to charge. He couldn’t be bothered to shower, but when he listened really hard he couldn’t hear Keith in the building. He got up and wandered through the flat, pausing outside Keith’s door and pressing his ear to it. He tried the handle but it was locked so he knocked, only to receive silence. It was about midnight but Pidge had said Keith split pretty quickly. Maybe he was at Shiro’s? 

To: Shiro  
Hey! Is Keith there? 

He paused as he looked at the text. Was that pushy? Was he being weird asking where his roommate was? No? He was his friend? Would it seem a little weird? He hit send anyway.

The kitchen was well stocked, neither of them were big on carrying lots of shopping, especially with Keith on his bike, so they shopped little and often. He heated up some milk and put chocolate into the pan to melt, needing proper hot chocolate. His phone dinged not long after it started smoothing out.

From: Shiro  
Hey, yeah he is, sorry he fell asleep.

Lance felt his heart twist uncomfortably. Was he safe though? Shiro wouldn’t hurt him. No, he wouldn’t. He shook his head. Keith would tell someone if he was being abused, surely?

To: Shiro  
Cool, see you tomorrow

He put the phone down and rescued the hot chocolate, glancing at the paper on the side, nibbling his lip and grabbing it. He sipped the chocolate as he started sketching out the scar, the one on Reds hand and Keith’s chest. Once he finished it he photographed it, sending it to Matt and Pidge.

To: Gremlin: Matt  
Can you find something on this? Don’t know how easy you could see through the cams tonight.

From: Gremlin  
Sure, give us a while

He gave up after that, putting the stuff in the dishwasher and taking himself into bed, exhausted from the days events.

 

A few hours later he was shaken awake, Keith standing over him, frantically clutching the paper he had drawn on. 

“The fuck do you think you’re doing Lance?” He hissed, eyes blazing as his body shook. Lance grumbled, forcing himself to sit up and rub his eyes. “I told you. No questions.”

“I just saw it around and was intrigued!” He tried to blag but Keith just sucked his lip into his mouth, the light from the hallway accentuating his features as he turned away. He shouldn’t be this pretty with a black eye and cut up face. He just shouldn’t. 

“Lance.” He started, voice calmer now, eyes locking onto Lances. “You need to drop this. It’s not something you need to be involved in ok? You’re better off without even thinking about it.” He pressed his hand to Lances jaw thoughtfully before sighing. “Promise me you won’t even look into it? They can track all the searches even remotely connected to it. Please?” 

“Keith. What? Who?” He reached up to curl his fingers around Keith’s wrist, not wanting him to run away. 

“Look. Just, stay away from anything regarding this sign. Please?” Keith sat down on the edge of Lances bed, thumb brushing over Lances bottom lip. 

“Why Keith?” Lance scooted forward so he was essentially curled around his friend who looked down, nibbling his lip and wincing when he remembered it was split. 

“They aren’t good. It’s never a good thing if you get followed by them. They are the reason I moved here ok? Just stay safe.” He pleaded, leaning into Lances chest, face pressed to his neck and Lance tensed before wrapping his arms around him in a hug, something he wasn’t sure he had ever been allowed to do before. 

“Ok Keith, I won’t research anymore.” He declared and Keith nodded against his shoulder, arms wrapping around his waist slowly as he relaxed. Lance decided he could hold the uncomfortable way he was sitting in forever if it meant he could hold Keith more often, he felt like he needed it. 

“Thank you, Lance.” He mumbled, slowly drawing himself away with a dark blush covering his cheeks. “I’ll leave you to sleep, sorry I’m so compulsive.”

“No problem Buddy.” Lance patted his arm and then Keith was gone, shutting the door gently. 

From: Gremlin  
We may have a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come talk on Tumblr! my main is full of Voltron-y goodness: http://hisskydiamond.tumblr.com/  
> or my writing one is full of all my art: http://skykathrynarts.tumblr.com/


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